Carnotaurus was a large predatory theropod. It was about 30 feet long and 10 feet tall at the hips. It weighed about 1.75 tons (3500 pounds). Its most distinctive feature were the two thick horns above the eyes, and the extremely small forelimbs with four fingers each. It had an unusually long neck compared to other theropods. Its head was relatively small with box-shaped jaws. Its eyes faced forward, which is unusual for dinosaurs. There was an odd contrast between the deep, robust skull and the shallow, slender jaw. It is unclear what implementations this has on methods of feeding. Carnotaurus was not a feathered dinosaur like other more advanced coelurosaurian theropods. Instead, it had lined rows of bumps on the skin, which became larger toward the spine. The only species known is C. sastrei. Its closest relatives are the Aucasaurus (Argentina), Majungasaurus (Madagascar), and Rajasaurus (India). These dinosaurs form the subfamily Carnotaurinae.

Carnotaurus has been featured occasionally in media. Its most notable role was in the movie “˜Lost World: Jurassic Park’. It was also used in the 2000 Disney film “˜Dinosaur’.